McAlavy Donald K. McAlavy of St. Petersburg, Fla. celebrated his 80th birthday on Dec. 30 in Largo, Fla. The celebration was hosted by Kim (McAlavy) Siewert, it was a suprise western themed party. Donald was born Dec. 30, 1931 in Clovis. He has six children, 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

By Don McAlavy: Local historian Don McAlavy has written poetry since he was a farm boy at his family’s home 16 miles north of Clovis. He fell off the first horse he rode, herding “woolies” with his father. As a gangling long-legged youth he worked on the Joe Bailey ranch in the Frio Draw and […]

By Don McAlavy: CNJ Columnist This columnist, Don McAlavy, has two letters that Norvell G. Tate and W.H. “Bill” Duckworth wrote to each other in 1934. The first letter was from N.G. Tate of Albuquerque, June 25, 1934. “Mr. W. H. Duckworth, Clovis, New Mexico. Dear Sir; I am attempting a thesis for a master’s […]

By Don McAlavy: Local columnist Bea Alma Peacock died at age 88 on June 6, 2005, at Plains Regional Medical Center. She was born northwest of Clovis, at Hassell, but later raised her family at Ima. In her obituary she listed five of her grandchildren, one of them being Misti McAlevy living with her husband […]

By David Stevens: Freedom New Mexico editor To our readers, You regularly check out Curry County Historian Don McAlavy’s column and most of you don’t care for Amy Alkon’s advice column. That’s what you told us in a recent survey published in the paper. We received more than 300 responses to the surveys, most telling […]

By Don McAlvy: CNJ Columnist Back in 1973 patrolman Gene Dawson of the Clovis Police Department stumbled into a lost-and-found item no one wanted to claim while cruising down an alley. “Tell them they can have the lumber if they don’t want it,” Dawson said. He found a black wooden coffin, the kind that Count […]

Don McAlavy: Local Columnist Back in 1969, an artist in Clovis figured it was about time to paint pictures of old historical buildings, scenes, and the pioneers of the old days. The artist who came up with this idea was Virginia Posey Gregory. With help from Willie Fe Hester, another fine artist, the modest but […]

By Helena Rodriguez Longtime Clovis historian Don McAlavy has left the dusty plains of eastern New Mexico for the tropical shorelines of St. Petersburg, Fla. But McAlavy insists his days of recording Curry County history are not yet history. McAlavy and his wife, Katherine, recently sold their home on the Pleasant Hill Highway and quietly […]

By Darrell Todd Maurina: CNJ staff writer Local historian Don McAlavy is among the few Clovis residents who remembers what the city was like before an old civilian airstrip west of town became Clovis Army Air Base in June 1942. The airfield started as Portair Field on June 28, 1929, when one of the predecessors […]

Letters to the Editor I enjoy reading Don McAlavy’s historical articles in the Wednesday papers. I would like to make a comment and correction in the story about the drowning of Aric Arnold, who died, June 8, 1988, at Greene Acres Lake in Clovis. McAlavy stated that the two girls were trying to save Aric […]

My name is LeAnn Westley (Johnson) and I am the daughter of Anthony “Tony” Johnson, sometimes known by strangers as the “man who jumped off Hotel Clovis.” I would like to express my feelings about the column in Wednesday’s newspaper by Don McAlavy headlined “Hotel Clovis holds story of one tragic life.” When my father […]